Day: February 22, 2019

Running Out of Time

Fandango6 Comments

08629265-E2D2-460B-AE84-CC517726E84E“You’re trying my patience, Alan,” Elizabeth said. “I know you know enough about female physiology to understand that there is a finite period of time for women to safely give birth to a healthy baby and my biological clock is ticking.”

“Yes, I do know that,” Alan admitted. “And I agree that someday soon….”

“Someday soon? Seriously?” Elizabeth said, tears starting to well up in her eyes. “We’ve been together for almost twelve years, Alan, and you know how much I want a baby before it’s too late for me. The truth is that my window to get pregnant and to carry a baby to term is going to be closing very soon. I’m running out of time, so ‘someday’ just won’t cut it. Why won’t you commit to this for me, for us, for our future?”

“Elizabeth,” Alan said, “Between all of the geo-political chaos happening around the globe and the potential impact on the sustainability of human life on our planet due to unabated climate change, perhaps brining a child into this world is not such a good idea.”

“Get out!” Elizabeth screamed. “Pack your bags and leave. I can’t believe how I’ve wasted my time with you. Leave now.”

“Elizabeth, you’re being a little rash, don’t you think?” Alan said, reaching his hand toward her to touch her face. She swatted his hand away and picked up her phone. “Who are you calling?” Alan asked.

“Building security.”

Written for these daily prompts: Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (finite), Your Daily Word Prompt (someday), Word of the Day Challenge (commit), and Ragtag Daily Prompt (security). Photo credit: Seth Macey@unsplash.

I’m Mister Versatile

Fandango9 Comments

24038127-E7A8-4DDA-9E9C-C25B0217A6CCI must be Mister Versatile. For the second time in three days, I’ve been gifted with the Versatile Blogger Award. On Wednesday, it was Melanie, at Sparks From a Combustible Mind, who honored me, as I wrote about here. Today, it was Rory, A Guy Called Bloke, who bestowed this honor upon me.

As a recipient of this award, I’m supposed to thank the person who gave me this award. Thank you very much, Rory. I’m also supposed to include a link to his blog, which I’ve already done above.

Then I’m supposed to gift and notify five bloggers that I’ve recently discovered or follow regularly for the Versatile Blogger Award. I’m not going to do that, since, as I explained when Melanie gifted me, nearly every blogger I know and follow is versatile. So instead, I’m going to open this up to any and all bloggers who would like to share with me/us seven things about themselves.

Finally, I’m supposed to tell the person who gifted me seven things about myself. This is tough, since I already told Melanie and anyone who read my post in response to her gifting me with that award seven things about myself. Now I have to tell Rory, and anyone who reads this post, seven more things. Sheesh, I’m not that deep!

But I’ll give it a try. Here goes.

  1. I am apparently a very versatile blogger.
  2. I didn’t start out intending to write a lot of flash fiction on this blog, but I have come to really enjoy writing flash fiction and I think I’m decent at it, so now many of my posts are, in fact, flash fiction.
  3. I never intended to write prompts for other bloggers, but when WordPress stopped its daily one-word prompt last June, I jumped in with “FOWC With Fandango.” Then I added my weekly “Fandango’s Provocative Question,” and just last week I started a new, weekly photo prompt, “Fandango’s Flash Fiction Challenge.”
  4. The notion that I have ever skied naked is an urban legend. I haven’t. But I have been to nude beaches and am very comfortable walking around the house in the altogether. I’m not so sure how comfortable my wife is with my doing that, though.
  5. I am an atheist, although not a militant one. I don’t really care what one’s religious beliefs are as long as they don’t try to impose or legislate their beliefs on me.
  6. Up until the election of Donald Trump in 2016, I was politically aware at best, but not politically involved and active.
  7. I’ve lived in New Jersey (twice), Maryland, Washington, D.C., Southern California, Texas, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Northern California.

Rory’s Friday Foursome

Fandango6 Comments

A696F2A0-3402-47DD-8985-881AA74C5C8BOops. I misspoke. Rory’s not having a Friday foursome…at least not that I know of. What he is having is another Friday Four, where he asks us to respond to four simple questions.

1] How often do you update your ‘About Section’ in your blog and do you consider it an important aspect to your blog and if so – why?

I haven’t updated my About page since I created it when I started this blog 21 months ago. I haven’t changed, so there’s no reason to change/update my About page. As to whether it’s an important aspect of my blog, yes, I believe it is. Whenever I discover a new blogger, the first thing I do is check his or her About page. If there isn’t one, or if there is the generic “This is an example of an About page…,” then fuhgedabouddit. I’m not going to bother following any bloggers who don’t bother to share a something about themselves and what their blogs are all about.

2] Which do you prefer and why and what entices you to become involved with them?

  • Competitions
  • Challenges
  • Quizzes
  • Prompts

I respond to a lot of prompts from other bloggers and I also have three prompts of my own. I consider “prompts” and “challenges” in this context to be synonymous. The challenge is to incorporate the prompt words and/or photos into intriguing tales. I’m less inclined to participate in competitions or quizzes. Now that I’m an old fart, I’ve lost my competitive edge and my brain is quiz-averse.

3] How often do you ‘reblog’ or share other blogger’s posts?

I rarely reblog, but I always link back to the prompt/challenge posts I respond to.

4] What prompts you to do so?

What prompts me to reblog? As I mentioned, I rarely do so. I suppose if I come across something that I think is totally unique and that really speaks to me, I might reblog it. But I’m more likely to write my own post and link back to the post that prompted it.

The Ents of Middle Earth

Fandango13 Comments

87CB57DA-7B8C-417A-8E06-3B215E1E46B5“The Ent Revolt at the end of the Third Age was meant to put an end to human domination of Middle Earth after their enslavement of the Elves, Dwarfs, Hobbits, and Orcs,” the park ranger explained to the students. “The humans were systematically destroying the planet, clear-cutting dense forests, digging deep holes in the surface of the planet to mine for fuels, and polluting the air and the water.

“The revolt, lead by Treebeard, the oldest, wisest, and most majestic of the Ents, was a last ditch effort by the forces of nature to stop the human devastation. Alas, as large and powerful as the Ents were, the humans were undeterred. They developed a weapon that could immobilize the Ents, putting an end to their revolt.

“The scene before you shows Treebeard as he was frozen during an attack on a human village. Now, class, it’s time to go to the vessel for the return to our home planet. Nothing living can survive on this planet for more than a few hours.”

I was tagged, along with nine others, by Nova, at My Namastè 365 Online, to write a piece of historical fiction based upon the image above. It’s supposed to have a 150 word limit, although mine is 172 words. Sorry about that. Also, we are not supposed to use the words “tree” or “green.” Finally, we’re supposed to tag 3 people to use the same genre of writing and this photo to create a post. I’m not going to do that. I’ll open it up to anyone who wishes to write his or her own post about this picture. Ready, set, go!

Friday Fictioneers — Glass Works

Fandango25 Comments

B711791D-D776-4074-8182-D6D34EE1723F“They’re beautiful,” the girl said about glass roses arranged in a crystal vase.

“Thanks,” he said. “I grew them myself.”

“But these aren’t real roses, they’re glass,” she said.

“They were real once,” he explained. “I developed a process that enables me to transform living things, like these roses, into glass in order to preserve their beauty forever.”

“Do you have other things you’ve turned to glass?” she asked.

“Oh yes.” Opening up a cabinet, he showed her a glass spider, bee, and snake. Then he went to the closet. “And here’s my daughter,” he said. “She was about your age.”

(102 words)

Written for the Friday Fictioneers prompt from Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. This week’s photo is Rochelle’s.